Classes Taught
ENGL-3309 - Technical Writing & Document Design
Students will discuss general approaches and principles to prepare them to write effectively in the wide variety of communication situations they will encounter on the job. Students will develop a reader-centered writing process. By thinking about readers in the act of reading, students will be able to predict their readers’ thoughts, feelings, needs, and desires—and students will be able to design their communications accordingly. Students will focus on real world writing. Through classroom discussions, examples, exercises, computer workshops, and assignments, students will think about and work with communication situations that involve the kinds of readers, purposes, and circumstances they will encounter at work. This course fulfills a course requirement for the English B.A., the English B.A. with Technical Writing Emphasis, and the minor in English and minor in English in Technical Writing.
ENGL-3312 - Technical Writing & Graphics
This course will examine the integration of graphic components in printed and electronic mediums. Students will use computer applications to compose and design graphics suchas bar graphs, organizational charts, flow charts, diagrams,
and drawings. Prerequisites: ENGL 1301, 1302, and 3 hours sophomore ENGL, ENGL 3309.
ENGL-3310- Technical Writing and Editing
Study of advanced technical communication situations such as formal reports, grant proposals, and professional articles, and extensive discipline-specific professional level practice in these forms. Study of general editorial techniques in formats, graphics, and layout and design methods in technical publications.
"The art and skill of editing require specialized knowledge of the use of language and the methods by which we make sense of information"
(Carolyn Rude)
"He who would search for pearls, must dive below." (Dryden, John)
My philosophy of teaching is colored and shaped by all of my past teaching experiences, the depth and breadth of which have pushed me to become better and stronger as a facilitator of learning. It's all about giving students the tools to succeed long after they've left the class.
To read my full teaching philosophy, click the button below.
ENGL-4312- Technical Writing and Computer Applications
Study of and practice in use of word processing and desktop publishing in document design and publication. Specifically, this course continues the development of technical writing skills began in previous coursework. Students will build on their knowledge of and development of the rhetorical situation paying particular interest to the aspect of delivery and the use of various computer applications that can be used to publish documents. This software includes MS Office (Word, PPT, Excel, Publisher) and Adobe InDesign and possibly Adobe InCopy). Students will have to make sound choices about how workplace deliverables can be best created using available technologies they may encounter in the workplace. Our primary goal will be to develop personal computer application skills to writing, editing, and producing formal documents one may encounter in the workplace – documents that will also include a variety of graphical elements that the students have to create. Students, working with a selected client (client they choose), will complete a long form project that demonstrates both sound technological choices but also appropriate technical writing skills as they apply to varied workplace environments.
ENGL-4320 - Writing for Electronic Media
Advanced study of and practice in writing for electronic mediums with a primary focus on planning, designing, and composing professional pages for the World Wide Web.
Specifically, this course introduces the fundamental practices and emerging theories of writing with, and for, electronic & digital media, including basic computational authoring in HTML and CSS syntaxes, critical interpretation of online sources and social media (in varied forms) management. This course is about writing — clearly, precisely, accurately, with energy and voice, and for specific audiences. Fortunately, good writing is still valued online. The course is about writing in and for digital environments, with a focus on varied environments and contexts, and about communicating effectively in those online environments. Learning how to achieve balance and a careful, deliberate blend of these digital elements such as image and text is a primary goal, and accomplishing it will require new skills, intuitions and sensitivities.
Prerequisites: ENGL 1301, 1302, 3 hours sophomore ENGL, ENGL 3309, 3312
ENGL-5371 - Scholarly Writing in Health
This course is a required course for the MSN students each fall; however, the course is open to any graduate student and would work well as a non-department specific elective option for a wide array of graduate students in programs that are going to intersect or overlap with health related career fields in some way. The course is designed to deepen writing and research skills for anyone that may be working directly or indirectly in health related or in ancillary health related fields in both a practical and theoretical manner; we discuss current issues in the field of health communication including interpersonal, organizational, and health media (including e-health).
ENGL-5085 - Special Topics: Folklore and Medicine
Primary focus will be on North America from the 18th century to the present era (including non-European communities) , although other cultures’ and societies’ practice will be examined. Emphasis will be on qualitative research concerning the expressive aspects of health-related behavior and practices, with special attention to the work of folklorists and anthropologists.
This course will examine the role of folklore in shaping attitudes and behavior related to sickness, health, and healing. Institutional, alternative, and informal medical settings are discussed as will the expanding use of social media as a new and growing area of medical ‘folklore’.
​
​
Previous Courses Taught
Appalachian State
University
ENG 4200: Editing
ENG 4100: Writing for
the Web
ENG 3700: Technical Writing
ENG 3100: Business Writing
ENG 3090: Intro to Technical Writing
University of Mount
Olive
ADV 100: Advisement English
ENG 111: Expository Writing
ENG 112: Writing @ Literature
ENG 234: World Literature
ENG 241: Public Speaking
Martin Community
College
ACA 112: College Success
BUS 260: Business Comm.
COM 231: Public Speaking
ENG 090: Dev. Reading
ENG 095: Dev. Reading & Writing
ENG 102: Applied Comm
ENG 111: Expos. Writing
ENG 112: Writing/Research in the Discipline
ENG 113: Literature Based Research
ENG 114: Technical Research and Report Writing
ENG 115: Oral Communication
ENG 231: American Literature
ENG 232: American Literature 2
ENG 233: Major American Writers
Lenoir Comm. College
Adult High School Education, GED Preparation and Basic Skills Courses
Wake Tech. Comm. College
GED Preparation Course
Fayetteville Technical Community College
Basic Skills, Level 2 and ESL Courses
Courses Developed
ENGL-5334 - Introduction to Visual Rhetoric
Introduces theories of visual rhetoric and visual design, especially as applied to instructions and presentation of technical and scientific content.
ENGL-5317 - Folklore
This course examines the connections between folklore, its occurrence in daily life, and the scholarly analysis of its use in culture from varied times and societies. Students will examine how folklore may potentially shape individual or group attitudes, values and beliefs on varied topics. Students will reflect on their actual belief systems and how those systems develop and inform other aspects of their lives and the lives of others. As a graduate course, students will learn appropriate research methodologies common to the study of folklore.
Note: The course content will vary depending on the instructor teaching; focus of the course for the semester will be made clear in the course schedule for the given term
ENGL-5337 - Intercultural Technical and Professional Writing
Introduces theories of visual rhetoric and visual design, especially as applied to instructions and presentation of technical and scientific content.
ENGL-5315 - The Graphic Novel
Students in this class will study the graphic narrative: the combination of images and text to convey meaning. While the graphic novel is the primary genre explored, other related forms and genres such as comics, comic strips, and web-comics could also be utilized as supplemental material especially for comparative purposes. In this course students will analyze the formal structures of, diverse uses of, or applications of the graphic novel.
Note: The course content will vary depending on the instructor teaching; focus of the course for the semester will be made clear in the course schedule for the given term.
ENGL-5328- Ethics in Technical and Professional Writing
This course focuses on the professional ethics of professional and technical writers; addresses the ethical issues associated with the design, use, and propagation of technology; and other ethical and rhetorical challenges for technical communicators. At virtually all stages of development and use, any technology can carry with it ethical dilemmas for both creators and users. Of particular interest is how such dilemmas are resolved (or complicated) according to how effectively they are communicated to stakeholders. By exploring historical and present-day case studies related to such topics as the environment, research and development, safety, corporate responsibility, and whistle blowing, students will analyze and practice various forms of technical communication.